The Devil Didn’t Make Me Do It

Luke 4:1-13

Oscar Wilde wrote: “I can resist anything except temptation.” Mae West said, “I generally avoid temptation unless I can't resist it.” On this first Sunday of Lent we look at temptation – specifically the story of the temptation of Jesus. We all know temptation. We each have our area of expertise in the arena of temptation. My wife and I have read several books in Alexander McCall Smith’s “The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency” series. In one book Mma (pronounced "Mar" - with a slight emphasis on the m) Ramotswe, the lady detective in Botswana who is the main character of the books, says to a friend, “We are all tempted, Mma. We are all tempted when it comes to cake.' That is true,' said Mma Potokwane sadly. 'There are many temptations in this life, but cake is probably one of the biggest of them.” (Alexander McCall Smith, In the Company of Cheerful Ladies.) I would disagree slightly. I think cookies are the biggest temptation, especially chocolate chip cookies. And ice cream, especially chocolate chip ice cream. Lent is a season when many people try to address some of their particular temptations. Traditionally people “give up” something for Lent. It is for some a second attempt at failed New Year’s resolutions. I never got into the habit of New year’s resolutions or giving up something for Lent, but I think Lent is a good time to examine our lives over this forty day period, and look at those areas in which we repeatedly fall short in our spiritual lives. It is a good time for  spiritual reassessment of our lives.

It is important to remember when dealing with the topic of temptation to remember that temptation itself is not sin. It is the waiting room for sin. It is that period when we can choose whether or not to go through the door of sin. Christianity understands Jesus as the one person who ever lived who was without sin, and yet here we see him tempted repeatedly. So clearly temptation itself is not sin. Three times in this one passage and the story says that Jesus was tempted, and even when it was over it was not the end of the matter. The last verse says, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” So the devil was not finished with him yet.

In fact even though the scriptures only record these temptations, elsewhere in Hebrews 4:15 it says that Jesus “was tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin.” That is a remarkable statement! He was tempted in every way we are? Yes! Why? It is said that was so we know can that we have a High Priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses. “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus knows what we go through. Hebrews 2:18 says it is also so that we know that he is better able to help us, “For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.” This makes the story of the temptation of Jesus much more important for us personally. It is not just an account of something that happened to someone else 2000 years ago. It has relevancy for us today. Jesus’ example of how he dealt with temptation can help us, and the Spirit of the living Christ is able to help us when we are tempted. There are three temptations in this story. They will be the three points of my message.

I. The first is physical temptation. Verses 1-4 “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.” But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” Jesus was a human being with a physical body and physical weaknesses and physical appetites. It is interesting to note that the story starts off by telling us that Jesus was “filled with the Holy Spirit” and “led by the Holy Spirit.” He was as spiritual as one could get! And yet he was physically tempted.

His physical temptation was food – something as basic and simple as bread. It was a temptation for him at this time because he was fasting – one of the twelve practices that we are looking at in our Thursday noon sessions on the spiritual disciplines. At the beginning of this message I joked about being tempted by chocolate chip cookies, but I was only half joking. Overeating is a problem for many people. When people give up something for Lent, often it is food. The major New Year’s resolutions have to do with eating and exercise. We all have read the statistics about obesity in America, and it is getting worse. It is said that this present generation of children will be the first generation to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. And it is because of the obesity epidemic in our country.

In addressing physical temptations we need to think beyond food. For some people sex is a temptation, and it has ruined many marriages. Addictions to alcohol, tobacco, and drugs are physical addictions. Smokers, drinkers and addicts know that it is extremely difficult to give up these things. The physical temptation to use again is very strong. When it comes to obesity – especially the type that threatens one’s health and life – is a problem as serious as any addition to a substance. Most – if not all of us – in some way know the power of physical appetites that we have a very difficult time resisting, even though we know we need to for our own good. I personally lost a lot of weight last year when I was having health problems, but since those problems have been resolved I have been gradually gaining the weight back, even though I don’t want to and it would be healthier for me if I did not.

Jesus was tempted in every way. I don’t picture Jesus as obese; very few people were overweight back in that time and place. But he was tempted to eat when he wanted to continue his fast. So he knew physical temptation. How did Jesus address it? The story says that when the devil tempted him with bread – actually tempted him as the Son of God to miraculously turn stones into bread, but the important point is the hunger not the doing of a miracle – Jesus responded by saying, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’” If you were following along in your own Bibles or the pew bibles, perhaps your translation did not have the final words “but by every word of God.” Some manuscripts and most English translations leave out those words. But the words are in Matthew’s gospel in all translations “but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God” - so that is not an issue. They are certainly part of the story. It means that we can overcome physical temptation by spiritual means – specifically by the words of God.  Scripture is called the Word of God, and Jesus illustrates his point by repeatedly quoting scripture in this passage. But we have to be clear that we are not talking about magic words. The Bible is not an incantation or a spell or magic words. Jesus is talking about God speaking through scripture but also through the Holy Spirit in and through our soul.

Temptation is when we get this idea in our heads to do something. It is that voice in our heads leading us down a path we should not go. The apostle James, the brother of Jesus, says, “Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” So it is clear that we are tempted by our own desires. We cannot say, “The devil made me do it.” We have to take full responsibility for our own actions. And the way to overcome temptation is to listen to the voice of God. There is a Native American story that illustrates this. An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy."It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Are we feeding the spirit or the flesh? Are you feeding your spirit on the Word of God or only the body with its needs. Are you feeding the physical or the spiritual aspect of your life? That which you feed will win.

II. The second temptation is worldly power. Verses 5-8 “Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.” And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ This is a great temptation in our world. It has to do with domestic politics. It has to do with international relations. It has to do with military might. It has to do with economics. It also has to do with fame and celebrity. It is 90% of what we read about in the daily newspaper and hear in the daily news broadcasts. Our world and our society has given in completely to this temptation.

Personally I see this as part of the ongoing political battle between the Democrats and Republicans, conservatives and liberals, in our country. I think that both parties have been seduced by this temptation of power. Oh, they have disguised it in righteous terminology so that they have themselves convinced that they are really doing it for patriotic or altruistic reasons for the greater good and for the good of the nation. But when I look at the political landscape of our nation, I see sin all the way around. That is why I don’t get involved in politics and I don’t belong to either political party. That does not make me any more righteous than anyone else. I have my own sins, and I am no better than anyone. But my distance from two-party politics has the advantage of seeing more clearly how it consumes people’s lives like an addiction. People get crazy over this. And it is destroying the social fabric of our society in my opinion.

What is the solution? Jesus answered Satan’s temptation to make him king of the world with these words: “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” The solution is loyalty to God above all other loyalties - above all political ideologies or parties or philosophies or social agendas. I know that some people claim to do this as part of their political or social agenda. They are convinced God is on their side. In fact if people are religious as well as political they really believe God is on their side.

This is nothing new. Nations and armies have always believed God was on their side against their enemies. The German army in WWI had helmets inscribed with the words “Gott mit uns” - God with us. During the Second World War Wehrmacht soldiers wore this slogan on their belt buckles. But it is not just German soldiers of past wars. It is American soldiers of today’s wars. In 2010 ABC News discovered and reported that the sights on rifles used by the US Military in Iraq and Afghanistan had Bible references inscribed on them by the manufacturer. Coded references to New Testament Bible passages, in the same type font and size as the model numbers, were inscribed on high-powered rifle sights provided to the U.S. military by the Michigan company Trijicon.  One of the citations on the gun sights, 2COR4:6, is a reference to Second Corinthians 4:6, which reads: "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Other references include verses from the books of Revelation, Matthew and John dealing with Jesus as "the light of the world." John 8:12, referred to on the gun sights as JN8:12, reads, "Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." Those are wonderful bible verses, but they don’t belong on guns of our military.  This revelation has been used against us in Muslim extremist propaganda saying as proof that Americans are fighting a religious Christian crusade against all Islam.

My point is that when we cannot claim God is on our side in politics or war or in economics or social causes. Human nature is such that it is much more likely that we are using God and religion for our own worldly purposes. Our desire to enforce our will on others and our vision of what is right on the country or the world is very dangerous. Jesus was tempted to do this! Who would have been a better ruler of the world than Jesus? Who would be more justified to force his will on others than the Son of God? Yet Jesus refused to do it, because he saw it as a dangerous temptation. How much more of a dangerous temptation is it for us?

III. The third temptation is self-preservation. Verses 9-12 “Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you,’ and, ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

We have an instinct for survival as human beings. To preserve our lives at all costs. And we transfer that instinct to God, believing that God will - or ought to - protect us from all harm. There is the temptation to believe that, if we believe in him and serve him, then God will protect us no matter what. When God doesn’t seem to do that - when bad things happen to God’s people - that is when people lose their faith. As a pastor I have heard this voiced many times. When tragedy strikes people will no longer believe or worship a God that would allow this to happen. It doesn’t matter if it is a world even like the Jewish holocaust or a personal tragedy like the death of a child. When evil or suffering or death or tragedy strikes, it destroys the faith of many people. We believe that if God is Father then he will protect his children like any earthly father would. And when allows evil to befall his children, some people decide to have nothing more to do with such a God. It is a very serious temptation, and Jesus was tempted in this way just as we are.

We are taught through thus story that just because Jesus was the Son of God did not mean that God’s angels were going to protect him from stubbing his toe, or protect him from injury or death if he jumped off the wall of the temple. That is not the way God works. In fact the gospels tell us that Jesus, the Son of God was terribly tortured and brutally executed by the religious and political and military authorities in Jerusalem. God did not intervene to protect him or save him. Even when Jesus prayed for delivery in the Garden of Gethsemane, God did not fix things. When Jesus cried out on the cross, “My God, my God, why has thou forsaken me?” God did not intervene and stop the suffering, the injustice or the death. 

It is the same in our lives. Do not be surprised when bad things happen to good people, when bad things happen to God’s people, when bad things happen to you. They will happen. Resist the temptation to blame God or forsake God or to give up your faith in God. Jesus was tempted to do that. That is what Gethsemane was about. Gethsemane was “opportune time” that our passage refers to. Verse 13 says, “Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.” The passion of Jesus was that opportune time, starting with Gethsemane and continuing through the trial and crucifixion. Jesus resisted the temptation to expect God to make everything better for him. Jesus endured the suffering and death as God’s will. He is our example in this. We will die, and the chances are we will suffer as we die. Remember when that happens that God has not forsaken us during such a time. In fact God is with us more powerfully then than any other time. Just as he was powerfully with Jesus on the Cross. In fact we confess that the Cross is the supreme example of God’s active presence and work in the world. And the proof of that is the resurrection.

Temptation is part of the human condition. We will never be free of it in this life. It is how we respond to temptation that matters. I encourage you to respond in faith and trust in God and God alone.